ZooTampa raises $33M toward largest expansion to date

In the days ahead of the grand opening for its Florida Waters exhibit, ZooTampa at Lowry Park announced this week that it raised $33 million toward its largest planned expansion to date. 

The Guardians of Wildlife capital campaign netted two historic gifts from the Straz Family Foundation and the Spurlino Foundation that helped fund the construction of both Florida Waters and its cornerstone habitat: the Straz Family Manatee Rescue. It's a multi-species habitat featuring not only manatees but native fish species, turtles, otters and other creatures in Florida’s diverse ecosystems. 

Financial terms of the two donations for ZooTampa at Lowry Park, a nonprofit at 1101 W. Sligh Avenue, Tampa, were not disclosed. 

The Florida Waters exhibit opens in March and is part of a $125 million planned expansion at the zoo. The grand opening of Florida Waters and the previously expanded Florida Wilds exhibit mark the completion of ZooTampa’s new Florida Realm, says president and CEO of ZooTampa Joe Couceiro.

The exhibits also give guests the opportunity to learn about ZooTampa’s nationally-recognized conservation work, Couceiro says. 

“The multiple habitats provide a lifeline for imperiled wildlife, where species like red wolves, panthers, bears, stingrays and manatees get a second chance,” Couceiro says in the release. “It’s a place where people learn that zoos like ours are vital conservation institutions dedicated to rescuing, educating, and preserving species for future generations.”

The new Florida Waters expansion began with the addition of Stingray Shores, funded through a gift from Kate Tiedemann and Ellen Cotton. That exhibit coincided with the expansion of the zoo’s David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center, which is now the largest nonprofit facility of its kind in the world. The center’s new facilities include two new 16,000-gallon, state-of-the-art medical pools for injured manatees equipped with rising floors and advanced life support systems. ZooTampa’s rescue, rehabilitation and release manatee program is run by a team of certified manatee critical care veterinarians and other animal care professionals who are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.